Police, gun owners say state firearm laws are tough enough

A new report lists Massachusetts as having the third most strict gun laws in the nation, behind California and New Jersey.

By Laura Krantz/Daily News correspondent

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Laura Krantz/Daily News correspondent

Posted Feb. 19, 2010 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 19, 2010 at 7:05 PM

By Laura Krantz/Daily News correspondent

Posted Feb. 19, 2010 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 19, 2010 at 7:05 PM

» Social News

A new report lists Massachusetts as having the third most strict gun laws in the nation, behind California and New Jersey.

But while the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a national gun control organization that issued the report, commends the state's strict laws, they want even tighter regulations, to close the gun-show loophole and keep closer tabs on lost or stolen guns.

Some MetroWest police commanders say stricter state laws are the wrong approach to curbing gun violence.

To obtain a handgun in Massachusetts, a person must complete a gun-safety course, fill out an application, pay a $100 fee and have a license application approved by the police.

Most gun violence, said Brooks, results from people who bring guns into Massachusetts from states with looser laws or who steal them from licensed owners.

He said illegally obtained guns are involved in violent crimes roughly 10 times more often than licensed guns.

"The licensed gun owners are not the ones getting into trouble," Brooks said.

The Brady Campaign's report uses five categories to score states: how well they curb firearm trafficking, whether they perform background checks, how effectively they keep guns from children, whether they ban military-style weapons and how they regulate guns in public places.

"We're always supportive of what (Massachusetts) has been doing," said Peter Hamm, communications director for the Brady Campaign, which is named after Jim Brady, President Ronald Reagan's press secretary who was severely wounded in a failed assassination attempt on Reagan.

Hamm encouraged Massachusetts to require background checks at gun shows, prohibit the purchase of multiple guns at once and require gun owners to report a lost or stolen weapon.

"Unfortunately Massachusetts suffers gun violence because of weak gun laws in other states," said Hamm.

To solve this problem, John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence, a Massachusetts gun-control advocacy group, suggests Congress pass federal laws to make controls uniform in all 50 states.

"Massachusetts is a model. Eventually Congress will wake up and replicate our successful gun laws," said Rosenthal, a Massachusetts resident who owns two shotguns for skeet shooting.

But others think the state's laws are tough enough.

Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League, called them the worst in the nation.

"The Massachusetts gun laws have been a complete failure in every respect," said Wallace, who said they are too complicated and do not effectively prohibit terrorists and criminals from obtaining guns.

Wallace also said he opposes mandatory licenses for gun ownership.

"They treat lawful citizens like criminals," said Wallace, who said it would be better to keep a list of who can't have a gun, rather than a list of those who can.

Page 2 of 2 - Under Massachusetts law, anyone convicted of a violent crime punishable by up to two years in prison, including drunken driving, can never be issued a gun license.